Mine
by shotgunxenvy
Summary: AU James/Camille fic, because there just aren't enough of those. Basically just fluff based on Taylor Swift's "Mine."


**A/N: **So, while this is not my first foray into fanfiction, it is my first into the BTR fandom. I ship James/Camille kind of super hard, and this song came on the radio a while ago and I realized I had to write it. It kind of turned into a monster from there, but I hope you guys like it anyway. :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own, because if I did, these two would be together for real. Also, all song rights go to Taylor Swift.

* * *

_You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables  
Left a small town and never looked back_

It was Tuesday again, 4:30 p.m., and Camille was walking into the small café down the street from the university, just like she did every Tuesday. She breathed in the homey scent of coffee, cinnamon, and textbooks wafting from behind the counter and from the tables where students sat, laughing and eating and studying. She sat down at her normal booth in the back corner of the restaurant, settling herself in with her book, but before she could open it, she heard a familiar voice next to her.

"Hey, Tuesday." She looked up to see the brunette boy who waited on her every week. Even though she had been there in the same booth at the same time for over six months, he hadn't ever asked her name, so he had taken to affectionately calling her Tuesday.

She smiled up at him through her lashes; truth was, she didn't know his name either. None of the employees wore nametags since everyone knew everyone around the campus area. "Hi again."

"The usual?" he asked, flashing her his movie star smile that made every girl in a ten-mile radius swoon.

"Mhm," she said, blushing a soft pink. She couldn't help but blush whenever he smiled at her like that. The guy was incredibly handsome, with perfectly chiseled features, shiny cocoa-colored hair that was never out of place, and bright hazel eyes that always seemed to glint with a hint of mischief behind them.

"Be right back, then," he said, winking at her and walking away. She watched him go from behind her book. His body was not something to bat an eye at – muscular arms, broad chest that she knew had to be from working out, and a perfectly formed backside. She quickly shook her head and turned bright red as she realized what she had just done. Analyzing your waiter from afar as he walked away was something a creepy stalker did, and she was far from it, she thought.

He came back with her order swiftly; it didn't ever take long to get food in the small café. She ate her sandwich slowly, getting lost in reading her textbook. She almost didn't notice the waiter come back to her table, and when she saw him, she startled, making him laugh. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, Tuesday."

"It's okay. I kind of got wrapped up in the book," she said, giggling embarrassedly.

"Oh, what are you reading?" he asked, looking down at the book in her hands.

"It's nothing interesting, just my Psychology textbook," she said, turning the cover to him and then setting it back down on the table, marking her place.

"Oh, do you go to University?" he asked, leaning over and placing one hand on the edge of her table.

"I… uh, yeah," she said, blushing unconsciously at his close proximity. "I'm a junior, English major. Do you go there too?"

"Yeah, senior, music major," he said. "I'm just here part-time to pay for it all."

"Oh, awesome," she said, not really knowing how else to continue to conversation, but he took care of that for her.

"Look, Tuesday, I gotta ask you something before I lose my nerve," he started, taking a breath before continuing. "I'm off in ten minutes. Do you maybe want to go get dinner with me?"

"I… yeah," she said, her eyes wide in amazement that _he_,the boy built like a Greek god, had actually asked her, the self-proclaimed English nerd, out on a date. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot, actually."

The relief was visible on his face. "Oh, good. I… I'll be back out here in ten, then."

She nodded, giving a soft, "Okay." He smiled, placed a hand on her shoulder, and walked away, turning and sending a huge grin her way before going behind the swinging door to the back of the restaurant.

Ten minutes later, he was back at her table, his apron gone to reveal his black button up shirt and jeans. "You ready?"

"Yeah." She gathered up her books quickly, placing them back in her bag and standing up, waiting for him to lead the way. He walked her out, and she swore she could feel every girl in the place shooting jealous glares her way as she followed him outside.

"So," he said as they walked down the street towards the main part of town, "I guess the first order of business is your name. I know it's not really Tuesday."

She laughed nervously. "It's Camille, actually. Not even close to Tuesday. But it's okay, Tuesday is cute. I like it."

"Oh, good. I'd hate to have called you that for as long as I have and have you hate it," he said, grinning at her. "Camille suits you better, though. You look like a Camille."

"Thanks, I think," she said, ducking her head and tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, which was her nervous habit. "And now I should do the same for you. Ask your name, that is. Because none of you wear nametags or anything, and you've waited on me for months, and I've never asked, and I have no idea what kind of name you look like."

He cracked up at that, causing her to turn pink at the fact that she had once again said something stupid in front of a cute boy; it was all she ever seemed to do in these situations. "It's James," he said once he caught his breath. "And you are absolutely adorable. There's no reason to be nervous, you know. I don't bite."

As he said this, they arrived at a small restaurant in the middle of town, and he opened the door for her grandly. "After you, Madame," he said, sweeping his arm in a motion for her to walk in first.

She giggled, and they sat at a table near the back of the restaurant. Immediately, a waiter came and took their drink order. James looked across the table at her. "Oh man, I didn't even think about the fact that you just ate."

"It's okay. I'll just get dessert or something," she said with a shrug. "No worries."

"So, tell me about yourself, Camille. What do you wanna be when you grow up? Tell me about your hopes, dreams, fears, your life… I wanna know about you. You seem like an incredibly interesting person," he said, grinning at her.

"Was that sarcasm? Because honestly, I am the most boring person on the planet," she replied honestly.

"Not at all." He shook his head. "I mean it. You come in every Tuesday, same time, same booth, and you're always by yourself reading a book. You intrigue me. Actually, I'll tell you a secret. I requested to switch sections of the restaurant so that I could have your table because I wanted to know more about you," he admitted, blushing softly. "I hope that's not weird."

She was shocked by this confession. "Really? I… wow, James. It's not weird. It's kind of sweet… in a strange sort of way, that is."

"Good," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I wasn't ever gonna tell you that, but I seem to have a hard time keeping my mouth shut around pretty girls that I go out with."

"Oh," she breathed, turning red. "Thanks."

"But seriously," he said, briefly interrupted by the waiter coming back to get his order, "I wanna know about you."

This sparked a conversation that could've gone for hours, but she wouldn't have known; it just felt like a few minutes. She learned that he wanted to get into the music business, obviously from the fact that he was a music major, and that he really wanted to be a singer, but he knew that wasn't a realistic dream, so he'd settle for working with musicians instead. He was on academic scholarship, which paid for most of his tuition, and he lived in an apartment close to campus, which is why he had the job at the café – to pay rent. He was from a small town in Minnesota, and he'd left as soon as he graduated, using all of his savings and moving out to California without a second thought.

Likewise, she told him she wanted to be an actress, but she knew there was little to no chance she'd ever make it, so she was going to try for a job at a newspaper instead, since writing was her second passion. She was from a town close by, didn't have any siblings, and her parents were divorced and had been since she was ten. She had never opened up to someone she just met like this, but something about this guy made her want to tell him everything.

Before they knew it, they were the only ones left in the place, and their waiter came over and told them politely it was time to leave. They walked back to the café, not breaking conversation, and then when they reached his car, they paused. Then he spoke. "I had a great time tonight, Tues," he said, reverting back to her old nickname. "Can we… do it again sometime?"

"Next week?" she asked, smiling up at him through her lashes.

"It's a date," he said, grinning so wide she thought his smile might split his face in two. "Do you need a ride back to campus or anything?"

"Nah, I gotta run to the library really quick anyway," she said, motioning to the building a little ways down the street. "And then the apartment's right next to that, so… thanks anyway, though."

"No problem. I… I'll see you next week then," he said, not really sure if he should hug her or do anything at all. He debated for a minute, then went with the 'nothing' option, seeing as he didn't want to rush anything. "Bye," he said softly, then got into his car.

"Bye," she whispered, looking at him and smiling softly for a second before turning and walking away. She couldn't stop the grin from plastering itself onto her face as she made her way down the street to the library, knowing she'd only be thinking about him until the next time they saw each other.

_You saw me start to believe for the first time_

The week dragged by, it seemed to Camille. She was dying to see James again, even after only one date. He was all she thought about the entire week, until once again it was Tuesday, and even then 4:30 couldn't seem to come fast enough. Finally, though, it was time for her to walk into the café as usual, and when she did, she immediately saw James's face light up as he caught sight of her. She went and sat back in her normal booth, unable to keep the grin off of her face as he made his way to her.

"Well, hello there, pretty lady," he said, his grin matching hers. "The usual?"

"No, actually, I'm not eating today. I think I have dinner plans with someone when he gets off work," she said.

"He's a very lucky man, then," James said, and she turned a soft shade of pink. "I'll be over here as soon as I can be, okay?"

"Okay," she said with a nod. He turned to walk away, winking at her as he did, and she settled in with her book as normal and waited.

Soon enough, he was off, and he came back to her table, waiting for her to get her things together. "So, where would you like to eat?" he asked as they walked out of the restaurant and down the street the same way they had last week.

"Wherever is fine with me," she said, shrugging. "I'm alright with anything."

"Well, I had an idea, then," he said, looking over at her, and she motioned for him to continue. "We can go down to the boardwalk and get something and take it down to the beach?"

"I think that's an awesome idea!" she said excitedly, smiling over at him. "I love the beach."

They continued down the street, making small talk, and once they made it to the boardwalk, James found a vendor on the side of the pier, and they both ordered corndogs. "Not my idea of a romantic date food, but they're good nonetheless," he said as he slathered mustard on the breading.

"Well, you know, mustard all over a guy's face is a huge turn on for me," she said, giggling, and he laughed.

"Got that one covered then." They made their way down to the beach, eating the corndogs slowly, and once they were finished, they sat down near the water, not worrying about getting sand all over themselves. She immediately took off her shoes and stuck her feet in the waves, sighing as the warm water washed over them.

"God, I love the beach," she said happily. "This was a great idea, James."

"I'm full of them," he said with a laugh, watching her tip her head back and close her eyes in contentedness. "So, let's talk more. I'm gonna get deep for a second, because I've been wondering for a while, so if it's too personal, you can just tell me."

"Alright, go for it," she said hesitantly, unsure of what would come next.

"Everyone always comes into the café with their friends, but you're always by yourself… why?" he asked, looking over at her intently. She closed her eyes and sighed, and immediately he backtracked. "You don't have to answer."

"No, it's fine," she said, opening her eyes and looking at him, knowing he wasn't trying to be mean by pointing out that she was always by herself; he was genuinely curious. "I'm not really much of a people person. And by that, I mean people think I'm weird. I'm not like everyone else. I like Pokemon and Fight Club and reading books and writing and obscure music, instead of shopping and gossiping and Justin Bieber. I have a few friends on campus, but they're mainly just in classes, so I don't really go out with them much… I don't really go out much at all, in fact. I'm alone a lot of the time." She finished, not waiting for a response, just turning back to face the slowly setting sun over the water.

That had been the last thing he'd expected to hear. But her brutal honesty and the fact that she was so uniquely _her_ made him all the more attracted to her for some reason. "Oh. I… wow. I wasn't expecting that at all, actually."

"Sorry if that was a lot to unload on you. I just… yeah," she said, unsure of where she was going with her statement.

"No, it's okay. I like that you're honest. It makes me that much more intrigued by you," he said, slipping an arm around her shoulders easily.

She tensed a little at first, surprised by the gesture, then hesitantly, she relaxed into the embrace, sinking into his side slightly. She wasn't entirely convinced, however. "James… I… I don't really… I don't get it. I just told you people don't like me and it didn't even faze you."

"I kind of think it's awesome, actually. I like that you're different. I told you, Camille. I want to know everything about you, the good and the bad, everything," he said, looking down at her and smiling.

He was beautiful up close, she realized. His hazel eyes were bright with flecks of green and gold throughout, his eyelashes were long and made his eyes look that much bigger, his smile was amazing… everything about him was almost too perfect. Much too perfect to be interested in someone like her. "James, you're gonna have to forgive me, but I don't understand. Why me?"

"What do you mean, why you?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"I don't know. I just seem like an unlikely choice for someone like you. I'm average looking, a self-proclaimed nerd, and I've only had a relationship with one other guy that ended terribly. You're popular, gorgeous, and everyone wants to date you. It… it just doesn't make sense that you'd want to date me." She blushed as she finished, embarrassed that she'd just spilled everything she'd been thinking.

"Camille," he said, reaching a hand up and tilting her face to look at him. "You're beautiful, first of all, and don't ever think differently. Secondly, like I said, I like that you're not like everyone else. And thirdly, since the day you walked into that café, something has attracted me to you, and now that I've actually met you, I know my gut feeling wasn't wrong." When he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back.

"Sorry. I'm just new to this whole dating thing. Like I said, my last relationship ended badly, and since then I've just had a 'Why bother' attitude about dating in general," she admitted. "I just don't want to waste my time to get my heart broken. I'm scared of getting hurt again."

"You won't be wasting your time with me," he said tenderly. "I know it's only our second date, but I like you a lot, Camille." He looked into her bright eyes and saw a spark of something flash across them, and right then, he knew she believed him. "Trust me. I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt you."

Somehow, someway, she knew everything he said was the truth. "I like you a lot too, James," she said, smiling softly at him. His face lit up, but instead of a reply, he just pulled her in closer to his side, holding her tight to him. In silence, they watched the sun finally slip below the horizon, the lights of the boardwalk reflecting onto the water and giving off an almost magical appearance to the scene in front of them.

After a while, the pair got up, picking up conversation again as they walked back to the café. They got into James's car after he refused to let her walk back to campus in the dark alone, and he drove her back to the set of apartments she called home. He parked and walked her to her door, and she unlocked it quickly, then turned back to him and said, "I had a great time tonight, James. It was the best date I've ever been on."

"Me too," he said softly. Then he pulled her into his arms, and she melted into his embrace, taking in the smell of the beach and his cologne on him. He pulled back, and she could feel him tense just a little, but before she could ask why, he gave her the answer. She looked up at him, and he leaned in and kissed her hesitantly. Sparks flew behind her eyelids as his perfect lips moved against hers gently, like they were made for each other, but all too soon, it was over. He grinned at her as her eyes fluttered open. "So yeah…"

"Yeah, I…" she said, turning pink. He let her go, and she stepped back awkwardly, unable to keep the grin from forming on her face.

"Goodnight, Camille," he said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

"Goodnight, James," she replied, and with one final glance, she went inside, closing the door softly behind her. She leaned back against it, sighing happily, and then she laughed as she heard a "Yes!" come from outside. She called out another goodnight to him through the door, and then she practically skipped back to her bedroom, happier than she'd been in a while.

_I say, "Can you believe it?" as we're lying on the couch.  
The moment, I can see it now.  
_

Date number two turned into date number three turned into date number ten, and Tuesdays turned into every day, and before either of them knew six months had passed. Camille was falling more and more for the bright-eyed boy every day, and she knew he was in it for the long haul, as was she, but she was still worried. She'd never felt so strongly for someone before, and it was definitely a strange concept for her to grasp that she'd do absolutely anything for James.

They were lying on the couch watching a movie at James's place; she was there almost more than she was at her own apartment. It was dark in the room, save for the light from the television casting a soft blue glow over everything in front of her. Her back was against his chest, and his hand was lazily stroking up and down her side. She sighed and closed her eyes, content to just stay where she was forever.

James broke the silence between them by clearing his throat. "Cami?"

She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly. "Yeah, Jamie?"

"I um… well…" he started, obviously nervous about whatever he was going to say.

"What, James?" she asked, shifting a little more so that she was almost completely on her back and looking up at him. He was biting his lip, and his breathing had sped up slightly, making her wonder just exactly what he could possibly be thinking.

"I… Camille, I love you," he said, his cheeks immediately turning pink as the words came out.

She blinked a couple of times in disbelief, letting his words sink in. That was the _last_ thing she had expected to hear. "You… you what?"

"I love you," he repeated, sounding more sure of himself now. "And it's okay if you don't say it back, but I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I know I mean it. I know this was kind of an odd time to say it, and I wanted to make it special, but it was killing me to keep it in any longer, and I'm not good with planning romantic things, so… yeah."

"James I… you… really? You love me?" she asked, still in complete shock. She'd been thinking about it for a while too; she just wasn't sure if this is what love felt like or not. She wanted to be around him all the time, felt safe with him, would do anything for him, and the thing that got her the most: she could honestly see herself with him for the rest of her life. Really, if she was honest with herself, she knew in her heart that she was in love with James. The only thing that was keeping her from saying it was the inevitable goodbye. Love never lasts; she knew that from experience – both from her parents and her own horrible relationship failure.

Before she could finish her internal monologue, James answered her question, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Yeah, Camille, I do love you. I love everything about you. I'd do anything for you, and to tell the truth, I can see myself with you forever. I know that's a little extreme, but I also know that you're it for me. There's no one else I'd rather be with, Camille, and I truly do mean that with everything I have."

It was as if he was reading her thoughts as he said everything she had been thinking. Right then, she made her decision. "I love you too James." As soon as she said the words, she knew it was the right choice.

"Y-you do?" he asked, surprised she'd said it back. "I want you to mean it, Cami. Don't just say it because I said it. Like I said earlier, I don't expect you to. It won't hurt my feelings. I just needed to get it off my chest."

"I'm not just saying it. I mean it," she said. "I do love you, James. I really do."

As a response, he pulled her into a searing kiss, holding her tight to him like letting go would kill him. After what could have been ten seconds or ten hours, he let her go, a grin plastered on his face. "I love you," he said again, placing a soft kiss to her lips again.

"I love you too," she whispered, smiling up at him. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she looked up into his big bright eyes still tinted a slight shade of blue from the long forgotten movie still playing; all she could see was happiness and love shining behind them. And as she settled into his embrace, she realized she truly could see herself doing this forever.

_Flash forward, and we're taking on the world together.  
_

Two weeks passed, and if the two of them were together a lot before, they were absolutely inseparable now. It was nearing the end of the semester, and James had absolutely nothing left to do. As a graduating senior, most of his work was finished in all his classes. Camille, however, was stressing about finals and papers and everything that had to be done in the short time period until classes were finished.

She was over at his place yet again, this time on the floor with books and papers strewn around her. He was watching television on the couch, but mostly he was watching her study, amused at the way her tongue poked out from behind her lips in concentration, even around the pencil that had been in her mouth more than on the papers. He laughed softly to himself, and she looked up at him, eyebrow raised, dropping the pencil from her lips into her lap. "Something amusing?"

"Just you," he said, grinning at her. "You look so deep in thought that it's funny. I don't know. Go back to studying."

"Well now I'm gonna be self conscious! Thanks a lot," she said, laughing. Nonetheless, she turned back to her papers, glancing up at him every once in a while to make sure he wasn't laughing at her again.

Suddenly a thought came to him, and instead of thinking it through, he blurted it out as soon as he thought it, like he usually did. "Move in with me."

She choked on her spit, and then went into a frantic coughing fit, surprised at his words. When she finally caught her breath, she looked up at him. "What?"

"Move in with me," he said again.

"That's what I thought you said," she said, eyes wide. "W-why… what? Explain."

"Well, it makes sense. You practically live here anyway; hell, half your stuff is in my bedroom. It's almost summer, which means you're just gonna have to move off campus anyway. And it's close enough that you can still go next year while I work, and you won't have to pay for living there. If you think about it, it's the best decision all around," he said, grinning at her. "I know you like logic and stuff."

She contemplated this for a minute. "I don't know James."

"Why not?" he asked. "How could anything bad possibly come out of this?"

"I just… I don't know," she said, sighing. "I love the idea. Really, you're right, it makes sense, and it would work out great, it's just…"

"Just what? You can tell me, you know. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't want to," he said, dropping from the couch to sit next to her on the floor.

She looked over at him, biting her lip and thinking of how to best tell the story without boring him to death. Finally, she started, "My parents. You remember I told you they got divorced when I was ten?"

"Yeah."

"Well… they met when they were in college, like we did. And things were great for a while. But they fell in love, moved in together, and then I came along. Suddenly things weren't so great anymore. First it was little fights, like if Dad came home late or Mom overshot the grocery bill by a couple bucks. Then it got worse. They would fight all hours of the night, and I'd be awake and scared in my room with nobody to come help me because they were the ones causing it, and finally they ended it, but it wasn't pretty at all. It was an incredibly long drawn out process that just took a lot out of them and me. After the divorce, when I got over it, I asked Mom about it, and she said that if they hadn't rushed things and waited like they should have, they might still be together. I don't know how true that is, but I just don't want that for us, James. I love you, and I wouldn't be able to handle it if that happened to you and me," she finished, hot tears stinging her eyes.

He immediately pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair softly. "Hey, don't cry, it's okay."

"It's not okay," she said, shaking her head into his chest. "They're the reason I'm so cautious when it comes to you. It's not that I don't want this, because I do, more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. It just scares me that we might do the same thing my parents did and end up the same way."

"Camille, I understand, I swear. I know why you're hesitating about it. But let me reassure you, we're not your parents. We're never gonna be them. They may have made some mistakes, but we can learn from them. We're stronger than that, and if we have problems, we can work through them, no fighting, no leaving. I won't let it happen, okay?"

"Okay," she said, nodding and sniffling. "You're sure that's what you want, though?"

"Yeah I'm sure. I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I love you, remember? Why wouldn't I want you to live with me?"

"I don't know… I guess you're right," she said, nodding as she went through the pros and cons in her mind. She knew she wanted to, and she believed James when he said he wouldn't let it happen to them. "Alright, Jamie. I'll move in with you."

His grin lit up the room. "Awesome."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he said, leaning down and kissing her softly. Then he let her go and climbed back up onto the couch. "Now, get back to studying. If you flunk out, this genius plan won't work."

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine.  
_

Summer came, and Camille got completely moved into James's apartment without any trouble at all. James almost immediately got a job as an assistant at a record company just a short ways away, which he couldn't have been more thrilled about. It paid well, or at least enough to get by, and it was more than he had been making at the café. Camille got a summer internship at a newspaper, which was great for her career-wise, but unfortunately, it barely paid anything at all. It didn't matter, though. The two of them were happy to come home to each other at night, and that's all that mattered.

A year passed, Camille graduated, and immediately her internship got bumped up to an actual job at the paper. It was still just a secretarial job, but she was told it was temporary, since she needed more experience for them to hire her as a writer. Her salary increased a little, enough for the two of them to live comfortably in the small apartment, at least.

One night, James took her out after work, telling her to dress up because it was going to be special. She questioned him intensely, but he refused to spill anything about the location of their date, so she just went along with it. She found herself back at the familiar café where all of this had started, and when she walked inside, she was shocked.

The place was completely empty, save for the owner, and the lights were dimmed. Upon further inspection, there were roses, a tablecloth, and candles were set up back at her old booth where she had first talked to James. "James, what…?" she asked breathily, looking back at him.

He was watching her reaction, and when her eyes caught his, she saw his smug expression. "I called in a favor," he said, grinning.

"How did you…?" she breathed again, still taking everything in around her.

"Sometimes I can keep secrets, you know," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and leading her back to her old booth. They sat down, and immediately the owner sat two plates and drinks in front of them, and when she saw what it was, she laughed.

"Aw, James, you remembered my old order! You have got to be the most perfect boyfriend on the planet," she said softly, reaching over and taking his hand across the table. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said, his voice just a little shaky. She didn't think anything of it, and they sat and ate, both of them reminiscing fondly on old memories.

After a while, she pushed her plate away with a sigh. "God, I'm so full. This was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, James." Suddenly, she noticed him looking behind her with a funny expression on his face. He motioned for her to turn around and look, and she kept talking as she did so. "Seriously, Jamie, I can't… I don't know what to say." Not seeing anything, she turned back around, confused, to see James on one knee on the floor beside the table, an open black velvet box in his hand. The diamond ring inside sparkled in the light of the candles, making her breath catch in her throat as she realized just what was going on.

"Say yes," he said lowly, looking up at her hopefully.

"I… James…" she whispered, happy tears welling up in her eyes.

"Camille Marie, I love you so much. I've never felt this way about anybody before, and I never will again. You're the only girl for me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Cami. Will you marry me?" he asked, taking her hand in his and silently rejoicing in his head that he had gotten the words right without stumbling.

"Jamie…" she whispered again, unable to form the words to express how she was feeling. She was shocked, but in the best way possible. She hadn't even thought about marriage, really; it had been brought up in passing a few times, such as 'Well when we're married…' but it was never seriously a topic of conversation between them. When it came to James, however, everything she'd ever expected out of a relationship had been thrown by the wayside in favor of a new, better way of thinking about love, and this situation was no different.

"Please. Say yes, Cami," he asked, waiting on her reply anxiously.

"I… yes, James, yes!" she exclaimed, finally finding her voice to speak. His smile couldn't have been brighter, and even though he would deny it later, tears came to his eyes as he slipped the ring out of the box and onto her finger. Then he stood, pulling her up with him and hugging her tightly, and then he leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"God I love you," he whispered as he pulled away. "You've made the happiest man on the planet."

"And you've made me the happiest girl on the planet, James. I love you," she said, pulling her hand away from him and letting the silver band and the square diamond catch the light of the candles. "It's beautiful, Jamie. It's absolutely perfect."

"I had some help," he said, chuckling. "I was lost. So the girl at the store helped me."

"Just let me think it was you," she said with a small giggle, smiling up at him as a single tear fell down her cheek. He brushed it away with the back of his hand and kissed the spot where it had been. "This may be the best day of my life."

"I couldn't agree more," he said, taking her hand in one of his and wrapping the other around her waist. And they stood there in the middle of the room, holding each other and swaying back and forth to imaginary music until all the candles in the room had burned down to nothing.

_We've got bills to pay; we've got nothing figured out.  
_

Things were going well for the couple. They had decided to hold off on getting married for a while, until they got the money and stability to pay for a wedding. It wasn't that they didn't have enough money; they were just living paycheck to paycheck every month, simply enough to scrape by with a little bit extra for a night out every now and then.

One night a few months after their engagement, she was waiting in the kitchen for James to come home. Dinner was almost finished when he burst in the door, calling hurriedly, "Cami! Camille!"

"In the kitchen, babe," she called back, and he came running excitedly into the small room, picking her up and spinning her around in his arms without any sort of explanation, then kissing her forehead as he set her down. "Jamie, what's this all about?" she asked, giggling as she regained her balance. "I know you're not that happy to see me."

"Well, of course I am, honey," he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her passionately. When he pulled away, she blinked, trying to keep her head from spinning like it always did when he kissed her, and then she realized he was still talking. "…met a producer today and he wants to sign me! He said I have real potential, and he wants to start writing and recording as soon as we can! I can't even believe it happened! It was just a chance meeting at a coffee shop and now it… oh my God, Camille, I'm gonna get a record deal!"

"Baby, that's great!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. She knew his whole life he'd wanted to sing, and he really was _amazing_. His voice was silky and smooth and just beautiful; he'd sung for her numerous times and it still gave her chills to listen to him.

"But…" James began hesitantly, and she pulled away from him to shoot him a look.

"But what?" she asked warily.

"Well, the only thing is, he wants a thousand dollars up front for fees and things like that. Which I know seems like a lot of money now, but really, if you think about it, it isn't that much. It's a small price to pay for stardom!" he finished, making a grand gesture with his hands.

"Oh, Jamie… you know we don't have that kind of money," she said, and when his face dropped, a wave of guilt rushed over her, but she continued. "We barely have that much in savings as it is."

"But think, Cami! If we pay him the money, yeah it might be tight now, but later on it's gonna be so much better! He said we could move to Hollywood, and if I get famous we'll have it ten times better than what we have now. And I only had to sing for him a little bit before he stopped me and said he loved my voice and that I should be in music. Baby, this is my dream! We could be set for the rest of our lives if this works out," he said, taking her hands in his and looking into her eyes. "What have we got to lose?"

"A thousand bucks, for one," she started, but when he shot her the puppy dog look of pure desperation that just screamed _Please I'll do whatever you want_, she sighed and gave him a soft smile. "Alright, fine. We'll get it out of savings tomorrow."

"Oh, God, Cami, this is gonna be it!" he said happily. "It's the chance of a lifetime! We're gonna make it, baby. We're really gonna make it."

"I hope so, James. I really do. I'm so happy for you, baby," she said, meaning it with all her heart. What she didn't tell him is that she had a bad feeling about the whole situation; she just couldn't put a damper on his excitement. She would support him no matter what, because she loved him and would do whatever it took to make him happy, even if it did break the bank. It _was_ his dream, after all, and who was she to deny him that?

_And I remember that fight, 2:30 a.m.  
As everything was slipping right out of our hands  
_

To say that Camille was worried was the understatement of the century. It was close to two in the morning, and James wasn't home. He hadn't called, hadn't texted, nothing, and she was freaking out. She'd tried calling his phone numerous times – he didn't answer. She'd called his work – nobody had seen him since he'd left at five. She'd called everyone she could think of, and nobody knew where he was. She was practically in tears, sitting on the bed holding the phone in her hand like it was going to tell her where he was.

She was about five seconds away from calling the police when she heard the door open, and immediately she ran out of the bedroom and into the living room to see James walking through the door. "James oh my God where have you been? I was worried sick!" she cried, all but throwing herself into his arms. He hugged her back halfheartedly, and then let her go, and she dropped to her feet with a confused look. "James, what…"

He shook his head and looked at her, distant look in his eyes. "It's nothing. Sorry for not calling. I was out."

"You were _out_?" she exclaimed in disbelief. He'd had her worried sick for hours and that's all the explanation she got? "You better give me a better explanation than that, James. I've been calling everyone we know and I was about a minute from calling the cops to find you! For all I knew you were dead on the side of the road somewhere!"

"Well, I'm not. I'm home now. I'm going to bed," he said, voice devoid of any emotion. He started back towards the bedroom, but she grabbed his arm and spun him back around to face her.

"James David Diamond, you had better not just walk away from me like that!" she said, venom in her voice and anger glinting in her eyes. "Where were you?"

"You're not my mother, Camille. I don't have to explain everything to you," he said, eyes heavy with fatigue and exasperation.

"But I _am_ your fiancé, James," she hissed. "You at least owe me some reason you were gone for nine hours without telling me where you were." All of a sudden, a hint of a smell of alcohol and smoke reached her that she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes widened and her voice raised an octave. "Were you out at a _bar?_ You were gone for that long and couldn't call because you were out drinking? You know that doesn't bother me, James, but… is there someone else?" The idea hit her like a ton of bricks. "Is _that_ why you couldn't call? Because you were busy with another woman?"

He stopped her before she could continue, placing his hands on her shoulders. "No. There is no one else, Camille. Yes, I was at a bar, and then I walked around for a while to sober up and think for a while before I came home. That's it."

"That's it? You had me freaking out because you were out drinking with your friends? Seriously?" She was almost screaming now; she couldn't believe it. This wasn't like James at all. "What in God's name could you possibly have to think about until two in the morning?"

"I lost that _fucking_ money, that's what!" James cried, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

Camille stopped in her tracks. "You what?" she whispered.

"I lost the money, Camille. The producer wasn't real. He took my money and said we'd meet this afternoon, so I waited, and he never showed up, and I called the number he gave me, and it had been disconnected. The guy scammed me out of a thousand dollars. Apparently, he's been doing that for a while now. I asked around," James explained, sitting down on the couch and dropping his head into his hands. "I'm a fucking idiot."

She took in his words with an expression of shock on her face. "You… you lost our money? James we didn't have that money to lose! Now we've got _nothing_ to fall back on! I knew there was something wrong with it as soon as you said something. Why the fuck didn't you check this guy out first?"

"I don't _know_ Camille! I was so excited about living my damn dream that I wasn't exactly worried about the money!" he said, looking up at her angrily. "Is money all you care about? Forget the fact that everything I wanted just got thrown away because I made one stupid fucking mistake, let's just worry about the damn money!"

"Well, James, forgive me for worrying about our financial stability," she hissed, rolling her eyes. "I'm a little more worried about having a place to _live_ than your stupid dream of being famous! Everything is slipping out of our hands, and you're just sitting back and watching! We're barely making enough to get by as it is, and all you can do is feel sorry for yourself because you're not gonna get to be James Diamond, pop star extraordinaire!"

"Really? My dream is stupid and I'm just feeling sorry for myself? You… I can't… I just can't deal with you right now, Camille." James said angrily, throwing his hands in the air as he stood to walk back to the bedroom. "I just can't. Maybe this isn't working as well as I thought."

"It's not, really?" she asked in disbelief, tears filling her eyes. "Fine." She quickly grabbed her purse and her car keys, walking to the door. "You can just deal with this alone then." She ran out the door, slamming it behind her and wiping away the hot, angry tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

She'd made it to the car by the time he caught up to her, and he grabbed her hand and pulled it away from where she was shakily trying to unlock the door. He spun her to face him and she immediately burst into sobs as she looked up at him. "Go ahead, James. Say this is over. Just… make it quick, okay?" she managed to get out between her sniffles. This was the whole reason she hadn't wanted to do this in the first place; the goodbyes were too hard. It was all she'd known her whole life, first from her parents, then her ex, and now James, the one person she'd thought would never leave her.

"Stop, Camille, just stop, okay?" he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight to him, rubbing her back comfortingly as she continued to cry into his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," he whispered into her hair. "I love you."

That hadn't been what she'd expected at all. "You…you're not leaving me?" she asked in disbelief, her words slightly muffled.

"No, Camille, no, never," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and pulling her away from him slightly to look into her eyes, which were puffy and red from crying, but also the most beautiful shade of chocolate he'd ever seen. "I'm sorry baby. I shouldn't have said that. I'll never leave you alone."

She simply leaned back into his chest and nodded, overwhelmed by the emotion she was feeling – surprise that he hadn't said goodbye like she'd expected, worry from the fact of the money being gone, but mostly love for the man that she was so afraid to lose. Then she found the words she was looking for, "I'm sorry too, James. I shouldn't have said your dreams are stupid, because they aren't. I love you. Please don't leave me."

"I told you. I'm not leaving you," he said, kissing her forehead.

She looked back up at him, expression pitiful. "You should after what I said."

"Baby. I'm not going anywhere. I love you more than anything in the world, Camille Marie. You're it for me, and if I left you, I wouldn't have anything to live for anymore. My dreams wouldn't matter if I didn't have you," he said, giving her a soft smile. "Hey." He wiped a stray tear from her cheek and continued. "Remember how we felt when we were on our second date, on the beach? I still feel that way around you. Every time I see your smile or make you laugh or hold you or kiss you, I still get the same rush I got the very first time we kissed. When I look at you, it's like the first time I saw you all over again. I fell in love with the beautiful, quirky girl from the back booth in the café who worries about everything but cares more about me than she knows what to do with, and she's the best thing I've ever had in my life. I'm not about to let her go."

His speech set her off into tears again, this time from happiness. "I love you too James. I just…"

He cut her off with a kiss, and he smiled at her when he pulled away. "No more apologies, okay? It's two thirty in the morning, and we should be inside in bed instead of out here arguing. We can talk in the morning, alright?"

She nodded silently, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her back inside. As she climbed into bed and snuggled into his chest, she couldn't help but thank God she was so lucky to have this man in her life.

_Do you see it?  
_

Camille was sitting on the edge of the bathtub in anticipation. Not soon enough, the timer on her phone rang, and she looked at what she was holding anxiously. A smile made its way onto her face, but before she had time to do much else, she heard the door open and James call for her.

She quickly threw the item into the trash, grinning from ear to ear. "Jamie, I…"

"Cami, there you are!" he cried, picking her up and spinning her around in excitement. "I have the best news!"

"James, remember what happened the last time you said that?" she asked as soon as he set her down, but he interrupted.

"No, baby, this is different, listen! So I was messing around in the studio today, testing out recording equipment, right? And apparently, we had a visitor, some huge producer coming from Hollywood to see who we've got on our label. Get this… it was Gustavo Rocque!" James said, waiting anxiously for her response.

"No way!" she cried, even though she had no idea who that was. "That's awesome baby! Now… who's Gustavo Rocque?"

"Only one of the biggest producers of all time! Remember Boyquake?" he asked excitedly. When she nodded, he continued. "Yeah, he produced all of their albums and he's won a bunch of awards and had so many number one hits it's not even funny! Anyway, he heard me singing into a mic in the back and told me he's looking for a new act! He has three guys lined up already, but he was looking for a fourth because no band is good with just three members, his words exactly, and he said I've got what it takes!"

"And you're sure this is for real this time? I mean forgive me for being skeptical but…" she trailed off.

"No, babe, this is legit. He didn't ask for money or anything. He's gonna fly us out to Hollywood as soon as we can get packed and we're gonna start recording! Look!" he said, pulling a card out of his pocket.

She took it from him, reading the fancy script on the front and then flipping it over to see _James, call this number as soon as you're packed _and then a phone number. "Jamie…" she breathed, looking up at him excitedly. "This is real? No scams, no nothing?"

"I asked everybody at work and he's the real thing, Cami! We're really doing this. We're gonna go to Hollywood!" James said, leaning down and kissing her. "Oh God, we better start packing!"

She watched James start to run back and forth between rooms, looking for boxes and generally just freaking out. She leaned back against the counter and sighed, placing a hand gently on her belly. She'd tell him later, once he calmed down a little bit. As she looked down at her stomach and then back up at the man she loved, only one thought ran across her mind.

_We're gonna make it now_


End file.
